Dave Grohl has explained his band’s absence from last night’s Primetime Emmy Awards, claiming that a scheduled performance from the group was cancelled by broadcasters Fox at the last minute.

The band received two nominations for the main Emmy Awards night, which took place on Sunday (September 20th) in Los Angeles, for their HBO documentary series ‘Sonic Highways’, which followed the recording of last year’s studio album of the same name and also doubled up as an exploration of the rich musical histories of a handful of U.S. cities.

Dave GrohlFoo Fighters' Dave Grohl on crutches after breaking his leg in Gothenburg

Indeed, they were tipped to win their prizes, having won two awards at the Creative Arts Emmys the weekend before. However, as Grohl explains to TMZ, Fox pulled the plug on their show with just days to go before the ceremony. “You know what, we were supposed to play on the Emmys, and we were gonna play on the Emmys and then they kicked us off... I can't tell you (why), do your research but they did... We won two Emmys last (time) so we've got two of them.”

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In the event, the Foos lost out on both of the awards they were nominated for: Informational Series Or Special, which was won by ‘Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown’, and Outstanding Directing For Nonfiction Programming, which went to Alex Gibney’s ‘Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief’.

In a further statement given to Rolling Stone magazine, the group said: “The band and the Academy were extremely happy and excited to have Foo Fighters play as the first ever rock band on the Emmys. Fox then refused to allow the band to play a full song from the Emmy-winning ‘Sonic Highways’,” the band said. “That is why the band decided not to perform.”

Representatives for the Emmys and Fox have not yet commented on the matter.

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